The clock stoppers
by Maria - Madoka Ayukawa
Summary: Think twice before you tell your partner that you'd love to stop time... JetxJoe slash, foe thr 30 Kisses comm. ONESHOT.


"The clock stoppers"  
A Cyborg Soldier 009 fic by Maria. 

Pairing: Jet Link x Joe Shimamura  
Written for: The 30 Kisses LiveJournal community  
30 Kisses Themes: 9 (dash), 13 (excessive chain), 29 (the sound of waves)  
Disclaimer: Ishinomori's!

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Jet is all motion, passion, impulse, raw physical sensation. It's true that his bitter childhood in the Bronx, his past experiences as a Cyborg and his actual ones as a social worker have somewhat mellowed him, making the redhead American more mature and focused, but the core of his self is still there. And it always will be there, otherwise no one would recognize him as Jet Link.

Joe is more about flow, sensitivity, touch, raw psychological emotions. His raising as a kind and somewhat naïve, but still strong orphan gave him the basics, but what came after that has also contributed to what he is now. Sorrow, love, happiness, anger - he feels all of those in his very skin, and not only the ones that are his', but the ones that come form other also affect him.

"Those two are just like Ying and Yang", their Cyborg fellow Chang Changku said once, while Jet was teaching Joe to play baseball on the beach. It was true, in a sense. Jet loved to act and live the current moment, Joe preferred to enjoy it more slowly. Jet would say something and do it immediately, Joe would give more thought to it before doing likewise.

But, as the Cyborg baby Ivan Whisky says, Jet is a proud and open person who gives Joe the push he needs to go forward... while Joe is quieter and more humble, but is able to support Jet when he runs out of strength.

The chain bonding all of the Cyborgs is strong, invisible, and it will withstand practically any blows or counters. But the segments surrounding Jet and Joe are even thicker, according to the words of Francoise Arnoul. Her heightened senses allow her to catch even the smallest hints of any change in their behaviors, so she was the first one to notice that something was starting to change after the second defeat of Black Ghost. At first the other Cyborgs and Dr. Gilmore were puzzled at the change in her attitude towards them, at how she smiled to herself whenever she saw them together, but soon they came to understand the reasons and leave both men alone. They were adults already (though at times Jet acted more like a teenager than anything else), it was their business - they'd deal, and they could only respect what they'd decide.

Right in this moment, both men arein a beach near to Joe's house in Kanazawa. For once, Jet is silent as he stares at the sea, trying to listen to the slow lullaby that the waves play for everyone. Joe is sitting by his side quietly... maybe too quietly, Jet thinks.

"For the nth time, I ask you... What are you thinking about, Joe?", the redhead asks out loud, staring at his friend.

"And for the nth time, I reply... too many things", the brunet says, his hand lightly touching the wet sand.

"Nothing is too much for me, so go ahead", Jet tells him playfully. "Were you thinking by the lines of romantic movies featuring scenes like this, abot how you'd love to stop time in this frame so we can be together forever?".

But Joe doesn't laugh at his remark, and stops looking at Jet. He stares into the darkened nocturne sky and sighs.

"You should know me better and not remind me of that".

"... Crap. Me and my big mouth", the other man murmurs under his breath. He remembers the few words Joe had shared about the experience of his accelerator failure that had him moving and living at lightspeed, with everyone else suspended in time. Jet does have an accelerator himself, more rudimentary than Joe's, so he does kind of know how is it like, to see everything around him happen in slow motion.

Jet feels uncomfortable and mutters another apology. Joe gets up and stares at his partner again.

"Apology half-accepted", he says.

Before he can do anything else, Jet leans forward and steals a quick kiss from his lips.

"... Did that sappy bit add what was missing?".

Joe thinks of it for some seconds, and then smiles boyishly.

"Again, you should know me better".


End file.
